Levi Stubbs, lead singer of the Four Tops, dies at 72
Levi Stubbs, the lead singer of the legendary Motown group the Four Tops, whose voice endures in such songs as "I Can't Help Myself" and "Reach Out, I'll Be There," has died. He was 72.
Stubbs died today at his home in Detroit, Billboard.com reported. He had suffered a series of illnesses, including cancer and a stroke, that forced him to stop performing in 2000, Billboard said.
The Four Tops had more than 40 hits on the Billboard pop charts, including 24 that reached the top 40. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted the group in 1990.
Of the four "Tops" who first came together in 1953, only one -- Abdul "Duke" Fakir -- survives. Lawrence Payton died in 1997, and Renaldo "Obie" Benson died in 2005. Fakir now leads a version of the Four Tops that includes Payton's son, Roquel.
The original foursome "performed for over four decades together without a single change in personnel -- a record of constancy that is mind-boggling in the notoriously changeable world of popular music," the Hall of Fame says in an online profile.
Boyhood Bonds
Stubbs, in a 1987 interview with the Washington Post, said the foursome's bond as teenage friends kept them tight through the joys and demands of stardom.
"We were all born in the same neighborhood, and we really grew up together," he said. "So we've known each other all our lives, and we're still good friends."
He declined to delve further into why the group stayed so good for so long: "Once you try to figure it out, it might fall apart -- know what I'm saying?"
Stubbs was born Levi Stubbles on June 6, 1936, in Detroit. He and his friends first called their vocal group the Four Aims, according to the Hall of Fame. After a year, they changed their name to the Four Tops.
In 1963, the group signed with Berry Gordy's Motown Records. The following year they broke onto the Billboard pop charts with "Baby I Need Your Loving," which reached No. 11. The Motown songwriting team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland wrote that song for them, as well as many future hits.
In 1965, the group had its first No. 1 hit with "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)." They topped the chart again in 1966 with "Reach Out, I'll Be There."
Stubbs also provided the voice for the man-eating plant known as Audrey II in the movie "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986).
Stubbs is survived by his wife of 48 years, Clineice, and five children, Billboard.com said.
